Man who jumped off Sri Pada Uda Maluwa and went missing, found

By Ranjith Rajapakse 

Police found the 33-year-old pilgrim who had climbed Sri Pada and had gone missing after jumping off the protective fence at the Ratnapura-Sri Pada route at the Uda Maluwa. 

The police found him lying in the Rajamalai Estate and admitted him to the Dikoya Hospital.

They said the Siripagama Police and the STF, with the help of the army, had launched a search operation to trace the young man from where he had jumped. 

He jumped over the protective fence near the steps leading to Sri Padasthana on April 17 and disappeared.
Residents of the area found him lying in Rajamalai Estate on Wednesday (24) and reported it to the Nallathanniya police and later he was admitted to the Dikoya Hospital. 

The circumstances which led him to jump into the precipice are yet to be established. The Nallathanniya and Siripagama police are conducting further investigations.

He was on pilgrimage to Sri Pada with several others, including two women. After attending religious observances at the Uda Maluwa, as indicated by CCTV recordings, he had descended the Sri Pada along the Ratnapura route and jumped over the protective fence. 

He told the media that he was not conscious of anything that happened to him at the Uda Maluwa of Sri Pada or later until he found himself lying on the banks of a canal. He said he walked down the canal for five days and spent the night in caves in the forest without eating any meals.